England 330. India 87-4. Stumps. Yesterday’s talking point was whether England’s score of 199-5 was any good. Even the experts on Sky and TMS were divided. Nasser Hussain thought it was ok, but gave India the advantage because he expected their batsmen to bat better on the slow surface; Sir Ian, on the other hand, lived up to his cockeyed optimist tag by declaring anything in the region of 250 a great score. You could see where both men were coming from. Naz is a naturally cautious chap and was...
Serena Botham – and why Australia will be so hard to beat
I bet you a thousand pounds that Ian Botham’s Sky contract includes the stipulation that he must be referred to, at all times, as ‘Sir’ Ian. How else to explain the extraordinary, forelock-tugging obsequiousness of his Sky Sports colleagues, who are now compelled to defer to him as some kind of feudal overlord. He’s not just ‘Sir Ian’ for formal links and handovers. – but every single reference, no matter how throwaway, jokey, or informal. It must feel...
